Crypto.com Will Comply With Order from Nevada Regulator to Exit Market

The sports betting industry scored a massive win today.

Crypto.com has confirmed it will stop offering its sports prediction platform in Nevada. The Nevada Gaming Control Board (GGCB) had filed a lawsuit to force the platform to exit the market, and a district court refused to grant Crypto.com an injunction. Instead of waiting for an appeals court ruling, the operator will geofence the state to prevent users from accessing the platform while the legal battle plays out.  

With the exit, the operator delivers a significant legal blow to its own industry. Industry-leader Kalshi has been the center of many ongoing lawsuits challenging its sports prediction markets. The operator has been making increasingly bold claims in court, but Crypto.com’s decision will expose two of the biggest as lies.

The first is that geofencing prediction markets would be time-consuming, expensive, and may lead the entire platform to fail. However, Crypto.com already seems to have a plan to geofence Nevada, showing the process isn’t the impossible undertaking Kalshi made it out to be.

The second Kalshi argument that will be affected by the news out of Nevada is that limiting prediction markets will have a hugely negative effect on the world’s economy. Crypto.com has shown no concern over this and will prove it to be a false claim once the geofencing around Nevada is complete.

Bad News for FanDuel and DraftKings

FanDuel and DraftKings have recently announced they will begin offering prediction markets by the end of the year. While they have not confirmed that sports markets will be included, rumors suggest both have plans to launch those soon.

Both sports betting giants have spent significant sums to enter the prediction market space, but that was before Crypto.com lost its injunction request. This shows that the legal protections the new industry was believed to have enjoyed are not as strong as previously thought, which could be a massive problem for FanDuel and DraftKings.

The sportsbooks have already received warnings from regulators in Nevada, Ohio, and Arizona over offering sports prediction markets. They told operators that their licenses could be pulled if they add the controversial offering anywhere in the US. 

Now, FanDuel and DraftKings will need to decide where to go from here. 

If they push through with sports prediction markets, they could risk sacrificing their sports betting and DFS success for an industry that may face a major crackdown. 

If the operators decide to hold off on launching the controversial markets, they risk falling behind rivals like Kalshi and Polymarket.